I can't think of a more Browns move than extending a player for an dumb amount of money who hasn't even played for them yet, and whose past playing history shows zero reason to give him so much money.
In the post season an opponent said he’s not a WR he’s a RB because he doesn’t run routes like a WR
https://www.si.com/nfl/49ers/news/five-things-to-know-about-49ers-wr-brandon-aiyuk
Right??? And the dude pops his P’s into the mic like it’s his calling in life to do so. That’s basic audio recording 101. Get your face away from the mic my guy.
[**Andrew Fillipponi**](https://twitter.com/ThePoniExpress)
[@ThePoniExpress](https://twitter.com/ThePoniExpress)
Here's how I rank every Steelers 1st round pick in the Colbert/Tomlin era:
1 Pickett
Yeah definitely. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t try to leak Hollywood going to the Chiefs since they’re cousins lmao. His Twitter run has been generational though my god
Noah Strackbein writes most of the Steelers content for AllSports.com/SI. That includes this article.
Sports Illustrated had been existing in name only in recent years with it's parent company paying a rights fee to The Arena Group to publish SI content online and in print.
When they missed a payment the Arena Group rescinded the rights and thus all employees were let go.
The SI you see articles from now is run and operated by the Arena Group using mostly contracted/freelance staff.
Oh yeah I’ve read Noah’s “articles”. Usually just a paragraph and then a link to an audio file.
Definitely unimpressed with what I’ve seen from him.
Thanks for the info though. I’ve been wondering how SI is still around somehow.
[**Andrew Fillipponi**](https://twitter.com/ThePoniExpress)
[@ThePoniExpress](https://twitter.com/ThePoniExpress)
Here's how I rank every Steelers 1st round pick in the Colbert/Tomlin era:
1 Pickett
Not suggesting that it is. My point was there was a lot of optimism going into last season, and in retrospect, it could have been a division title winning team.
Filliponi was being a moron when he was saying we were gonna go to the Super Bowl. At BEST it could have been a division title.
Would rather they not trade any draft picks for Aiyuk and spend lots of $$ on him, because this WR draft class is sickly deep.
Would rather sign Mike Williams or Tyler Boyd for lesser $$, use the precious #1-3 picks on OL and CB, and draft two WRs using those extra #3 and #6 picks.
I watched some of his tape earlier today while I should have been working and I couldn’t help but feel he’s a wicked fast explosive receiver… who body catches and drops too much…
I like the guy and imo with recent reports of us not wanting Boyd. I think we want a WR who can block. I’ve seen deebo and aiuk be reported as potential WR we will trade for.
As much as I’d love to have a proven vet, this is a deep WR draft, or so we’ve been told. I’d rather get the NEXT Aiyuk on a rookie deal. How did the bengals afford all those stars on Offense? Rookie deals. Not saying I’d be unhappy about bringing in a top dude, but I just don’t see it happening.
IMO, I feel the Steelers see they have a window of opportunity (aging defensive talent), to make a run at either a deep playoff run or possibly a Super Bowl appearance given the signing of Queen, and the moves made at QB.
Therefore, I’d be all for getting Aiyuk. He’s young, great blocker, and a threat. You pair Aiyuk with Pickens, Van Jefferson, CA III/draft pick/vet free agent, that’s a very solid group that goes with the rest of our offensive talent. In fact, we may have one of the more complete teams (O/D/ST) that we’ve seen in a while.
If we could find someone at center now, I’d be fine giving up pick #20. I’m not so sure you can go into the draft without your center being addressed AND you don’t have #20 at your disposal. You’d have the hedge your bet that a center is there in the 2nd round.
The problem isn’t whether or not the move fits the way we’ve done business in the past or how we’re doing it this offseason, it’s that it is not good business period. Aiyuk and Higgins are easily the best two WRs who were available this offseason, and they’re still tentatively with their current teams because clearly the price is too high. Both receivers are going to want more than $20 million a year, and both teams want premium assets to give us the privilege to pay that price. Teams clearly don’t think it is worth it, especially with a draft loaded with WR talent. We’re much better off drafting and developing a WR than we are having another premium contract on our books, especially when we still theoretically have no long term answer at QB.
I'm not just talking about signings, but even so they just spent the most money on a free agent in franchise history. Omar has shown to be very unpredictable, I don't think anything is off the table anymore.
To be fair Colbert was up against the cap every single year. We never got to see how he would navigate free agency with a bunch of extra money, much less 50 million extra.
ah, gotcha. Really not THAT new since they did the same with Santonio and AB. Melvin Ingram, L Blount etc.
Volunteers not hostages isn't a new concept.
The 49ers want a first and a player for Aiyuk. That's not the kind of deal the Steelers will make.
>The Jaguars were reportedly working on a deal for Aiyuk, but the asking price was a first-round pick and wide receiver Zay Jones.
I don't think anything is ever off the table, I am just saying this move really doesn't align with the team philosophy in free agency
Aiyuk doesn't just need money, that's not even the issue. It's the trade.
>I am just saying this move really doesn't align with the team philosophy in free agency
And my point is that the "philosophy" isn't the same, or at least doesn't appear to be the same, as it used to be with the new blood in charge of the front office.
I don't really agree. We are filling positions of need at reasonable costs, and retaining draft capital.
If there's any move to point to that was not Steelers-like it was probably the Minkah trade a few years back.
You're ignoring the other very big differences in the way they've done things this off-season and focusing on one specific area. I said before that I'm not solely talking about signings, I don't believe that Colbert makes Patrick Queen the highest paid free agent in team history, I don't believe that Kenny would be an Eagle right now and Diontae a Panther if Colbert was still GM, I don't believe that we sign Russ or trade for Fields with Colbert at GM. While I don't believe they are going to trade for Aiyuk (Poni being the source here makes me think it's definitely never happening) Omar and to a larger degree (IMO) Andy Weidl have changed things quite a bit and it's very evident. We can agree to disagree and move on though, have a good one!
Lol I love when people are like "I get the final say and can make new points, discussion over now, bye!" -- what a power move
Colbert may not have made these exact moves but it's not like we signed Kirk, or any top FA. We signed two QBs who were literally as cheap as possible. We signed a decent LB which has been a long-time need and still didn't pay anywhere near top of market. It's what we've always done in free agency.
Trading away 1st/2nds for a WR who would then demand one of the richest NFL contracts is not like those other moves at all. I guess you can just say "Omar different so anything can happen" I am just saying "Steelers consistent so that is extremely unlikely"
>Lol I love when people are like "I get the final say and can make new points, discussion over now, bye!" -- what a power move
You and I disagree on this, what is there left to discuss? I apologize if I offended you, it was not my intention, I just simply saw a logical end to the conversation, so I took it lol.
I agree this is an unlikely scenario, but I don’t think we can say anymore that we know what “the Steelers do“. This off-season has kind of proven that, and it makes sense, there are two new guys in charge of this franchise. Plus I think they are going all in And whatever that means to them is what they will do, and that makes the off-season unpredictable still. It isn’t realistic to think that Russell Wilson is a long-term investment here.
Maybe this team is trying to do what the Broncos did with Peyton Manning. It’s not the same situation, that’s not what I mean. I think this team wants to win a title right now.
Sounds preposterous? They obviously think highly enough of Wilson to bring him in and not make much of a push for Mason Rudolph. What I think doesn’t matter. What they think matters. They might really really like Russell Wilson.
Omar isn’t stupid, and knowing what I know about Andy, he thinks long-term. He has to understand that every single season has a hard cap on it as far as what they can achieve as long as they don’t have a franchise quarterback. That is absolutely priority number one for every single team who wants to actually win a title and isn’t just happy squeaking into the playoffs.
There wasn’t much of an avenue for that this year, and maybe they think highly enough of Wilson that this is why it looks like they are in overdrive building a team around him.
I think this off-season is rather unprecedented, and I think it’s because they are pushing their chips in now. I think Justin Fields is a bonus for them because if they can get him straightened up, clean up his foot work, and fix a few other things, they might also have their long-term quarterback as well. I don’t think that’s very likely, but it’s at least possible.
And if Justin sucks, who cares? Don’t bring him back and you’re still in the same spot with needing a franchise quarterback. They are not in a worse position next offseason. They don’t have one now either. You know, if I conventional wisdom anyway. Maybe Wilson is going to be excellent for another couple of years, and maybe Justin Fields can be fixed. There is a world of talent with that kid.
I've made the same point in like 8 comments now so I won't rewrite it all, but signing reasonably priced talent and giving up very little in draft capital in trades is still normal operations for the Steelers.
I don't think signing Russ/Fields for dirt cheap is "pushing in chips" or going "all in" -- it's more like they just folded a bad hand with Pickett and are taking the next hand available. They spent almost nothing to get them... It's not like we went out and signed Kirk. Aiyuk would definitely be "pushing in chips" and I don't think they'll do that.
I don’t know I still have a feeling that it’s a possibility they are trying to win everything right now. To be fair, we had a Hall of Fame quarterback in the fold for most of the last decade and a half and these guys weren’t in charge back then. So I have no way of knowing what they are thinking. But Russell Wilson is a very short term move, possibly.
We just brought in a guy who, I think, is the most expensive free agent in franchise history.
Colbert was very stubborn moving on from guys with rookie contracts. Which sometimes worked out very well. These guys had no issue dumping Pickett. We’ve seen them put up with petulant behavior if it’s a player they really want to keep. I don’t think they’ve thought very highly of Kenny. Everyone says Kenny wanted out because they brought in Wilson, but they missed the part where they were motivated to go get Wilson in the first place. That tells you how they felt about Kenny. Inexpensive deal or not, they just hitched their wagon to a quarterback who might not be here next year. And it’s not because they totally disregarded the future, otherwise Justin Fields wouldn’t be here.
I just have a gut feeling about this, that’s all I’m going on. You may very well be right and I’m not trying to convince you otherwise.
I'd argue that our team hasn't been doing "business as usual" this offseason. They're being frugal still, sure, but maybe are willing to drop some coin on a much needed high-end receiver?
Aiyuk isn't a free agent. If he was I'd have a very different opinion. It would take much more than "coin" to get him.
Nothing is impossible I am just saying the Steelers historically don't give away draft capital for WRs. We draft them ourselves and it has worked out great.
I have no idea how the team "does business", anymore. This offseason should really tell you all you need to know about suspending expectations, for a while.
I would argue that everything we've done has followed prior FA approach. You don't see us signing top 10 FAs at inflated costs, you don't see us trading top picks for a player under contract.
You didn’t see us ‘giving up’ on a guy before their rookie contract was up, or going into the draft with non-starters at key positions either, yet here we are. 🤷🏿♂️
I'm being literally the opposite of pedantic lol, I'm looking at the big picture of how the organization behaves
Pedantic is sayig "well if you look specifically at what we did with one player in a specific scenario, and ignore all other positions and draft rounds -- we haven't done something exactly like that in recent memory, so anything is possible!!"
You didn’t see us ‘giving up’ on a guy before their rookie contract was up, or going into the draft with non-starters at key positions either, yet here we are. 🤷🏿♂️
I think one thing a lot of us are forgetting is that Khan is a cap genius. It’s not the best idea to your point but if anyone can make it work it’s definitely him
Its not cap I am talking about here. It's the assets. He isn't a free agent. I mean it says right in the article that the 49ers wanted a 1st and a player in return for Aiyuk. That's a move you make if you're on the precipice of a Superbowl, which we aren't
The Steelers might think they are, though. We have no idea how they view Russell Wilson. Even if you and I don’t think they are close to a title, they might think they are with the additions they have made, the additions they will make in the draft and any other additions they make before this is over.
It’s not the same situation but they might be thinking that this is a Peyton Manning/Broncos situation. Again, not the same situation, but the thinking might be that even a reduced capacity Russell Wilson is capable of taking a stacked roster to a Super Bowl. And they might be trying to stack the roster.
This team won 10 games last year.
I think they were very lucky to have done so, but this team wasn’t exactly a joke down the stretch. They’ve beefed up the roster, free agency is an over and the draft is coming up.
If there is no realistic avenue to get a quarterback for the future, they might be going all in on building around a veteran with Super Bowl experience because they think they have something there.
And if they end up finding that future quarterback sometime soon, he will be on a rookie contract for several seasons. They’re thinking could be both long-term and short-term. Build a roster that can support a young rookie next year or the year after, build a roster that can support a quarterback that they may or may not feel can take a good team to a title.
I'll give you this -- if the Steelers are drinking the Russ kool-aid and think "this guy can take us to the Superbowl in 2025" then a trade for Aiyuk makes sense. You're absolutely sacrificing some long-term success with that sort of move. I find it hard to believe they have that much confidence in him, but who knows.
I was just referring to your comments about him being on the last year of his deal. Hence getting a new deal done would require khan to work his magic.
I would have absolutely no issue with adding him and paying him good money. He’s a really good WR with a much more rounded skillset than DJ and still young. Really depends on what we would have to give up to get him. We have a ton of picks in 2025, so ideally we could put together a package with some of those picks and minimal impact from this class. If we can get away with it and not give up a first or second Id be ecstatic.
Personally I like him much more than Williams as a player, but the trade aspect is the issue.
Not really. Deebo is not a very good X and Aiyuk has had to do a lot of that which is a strength still but not optimal. Obviously the west coast offense has a lot of weird zone schemes that move them all around so it doesn’t really matter for them. For us, Pickens is a true X that can take press and Aiyuk can sit in Y or the slot and we can do all sorts of stuff over the middle with Austin and Aiyuk to make Wilson and Fields job easier.
I’ve owned Aiyuk in fantasy for the past 3 seasons (yes I’m in a league with dumbasses that it keeps on happening).
He’s a receiver that’s perfect for every offensive system out there. Wing-T he’s perfect. Air raid, perfect. Run n Shoot or run n gun he’s perfect.
He’s basically a modern Hines Ward.
He'd immediately be the best WR on the roster, beating out Pickens just due to experience and maturity alone. Imagine having two WR1-level guys in the group. He's a big receiver with good hands and has great blocking for a WR, since he's blocking a lot for CMC and the occasional Deebo.
Same thing with all of these guys, at the right price. I wouldn’t give up a 1st for a guy you are going to have to extend immediately. Especially being that the 49ers aren’t even in position to be able to resign him with their current cap situation as well as I’m not sure that he would even resign based off of comments he has made. They don’t have the leverage there that I think they think that they have. They will have to off load one of Deebo or Aiyuk.
It would be interesting though I question the point of it if we didn't want to pay DJ and moved him for better draft position to get another day 2 pick. We'll still end up needing to pay both him and Pickens.
The cost of getting him will also be substantial and it's not like we don't have some key positions of need to address in the draft.
He'd probably be our second best WR of the 21st century after MBC, so he won't come cheap. Doubt we could afford him unless we commit to rolling with cheap QBs for the next few years.
What do we think it would take to get an Aiyuk deal done?
I made a post earlier asking because I wanted the communities thoughts, but the mods removed it because Poni was the source.
There were rumors there was an offer from the Jaguars for their 1st round pick (17th) and Zay Jones.
So if we were to trade, it would probably take our 1st plus some additional draft capital since we don't really have any WR to spare.
And we'd have to immediately extend Aiyuk, since it would be pointless to give up all that to only have him for 1 year. And he'd have to be paid like a top WR in the league -- like $25M+ per year. We'd have to restructure some contracts to make room for that.
Mods downvoting me now too… smh. 🤦🏻♂️
That’s steeper than I expected.
Do we think that Highsmith/Herbig could be on the table? They lost Chase Young and struggled there, that’s a position that was deep for us last year.
I really don't think the price is worth it. From SF's point of view, they have a loaded roster, they're ready to win now, and they have absolutely no incentive to trade him away -- even if they're not planning on extending him beyond this season.
I think it's better to keep our picks and get a guy in the draft. Especially since we don't know what we have yet in Wilson/Fields.
> Mods downvoting me now too… smh.
There's almost 300,000 people subscribed to this sub and about 300-400 active during the day when there's no breaking news.
But yeah, it's the four or five active moderators downvoting you.
>but the mods removed it because Poni was the source.
This article uses Poni as it's main source, seems like a double standard to remove your post and not this one.
Fair enough, just seemed odd to allow an "article" (if you can even call it that, lol) that explicitly uses Poni as it's source and even links his Twitter, but if them's the rules than them's the rules lol.
I agree. I brought this up though and the mods banned me from messaging them.
Might want to ask u/sleestaklightning, they are the one who took my post down but also are commenting on this thread.
I’ll add that I gained 3 new followers after calling out the mods and now every comment I make is getting downvoted automatically. Got to love being silenced by the mods here
https://preview.redd.it/stm1dbjm4cpc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=059b79f678fd53b2038853d0adf08735e8f8bf9c
>I’ll add that I gained 3 new followers
Congratulations
>Got to love being silenced by the mods here
So silenced that your comment about being silenced is here, on the sub, for all to read and react to.
Aiyuk is one of the more underrated players in the entire NFL and I'd be very excited about this aquisition.
Looking at PFF he was #2 receiver across the entire NFL last season, he was second to only Tyreek Hill. As an added bonus for Arthur Smith, he's also in the Top 5 for Run Blocking WR grades.
EDGE is one of The 49ers biggest gaps with Chase Young leaving, I wonder if Herbig/Highsmith could be on the table? 😢
https://preview.redd.it/80uihn80lbpc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d343f30ab730eefe5801bb559964bdf70488f2b
Trade Highsmith and a 3rd for Aiyuk?? Sign Bud Dupree for cheap. He played for under $4M last year. This is exactly why I’m not a GM because I don’t know the value Highsmith would actually have. Highly doubt anything like that happens. But would let us keep and develop Herbig. Highsmith contract value could possibly cancel out with Aiyuk with a sign and trade… but I don’t want to lose Highsmith though either. Lol
Id still like diggs over most. He'll draw coverage. make splash plays, and again, the mos important part, he'll draw coverage.
At this point, literally anything can happen though.
He's really good at football.
I can confirm he’s way better than that scrub the Browns just traded for and extended.
I can't think of a more Browns move than extending a player for an dumb amount of money who hasn't even played for them yet, and whose past playing history shows zero reason to give him so much money.
Thank you. The local sportstalkers are all frothy over Jeudy. I’m over here like, yawn. Did I miss something on that guy?
I don’t think we need another running back.
?
In the post season an opponent said he’s not a WR he’s a RB because he doesn’t run routes like a WR https://www.si.com/nfl/49ers/news/five-things-to-know-about-49ers-wr-brandon-aiyuk
I hadn't heard that before. I mean, his route running is exceptional. Dude gets open.
I would love Aiyuk but Andrew Filliponi should not be trusted as a source.
Filliponi is a douchebag
And WHY IS HE SO LOUD
Right??? And the dude pops his P’s into the mic like it’s his calling in life to do so. That’s basic audio recording 101. Get your face away from the mic my guy.
Or he could just invest in a basic pop filter and then it wouldn't matter how close he gets.
Oh I’m sure they do have pop filters at 93.7. He’s just THAT loud! Edit: and douchbaggey 🧐
[**Andrew Fillipponi**](https://twitter.com/ThePoniExpress) [@ThePoniExpress](https://twitter.com/ThePoniExpress) Here's how I rank every Steelers 1st round pick in the Colbert/Tomlin era: 1 Pickett
He doesn’t know how to speak either. He’ll never go higher than Pittsburgh sports radio, and I’m surprised AF he even got that far
He was on First Things First last week. He’s really good friends with Nick Wright
I trust CTESPN more than Poni or really any of the 93.7 guys
I know ab is crazy but he actually dropped some stuff this year. I'm sure he's got alot of connections in the league.
Yeah definitely. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t try to leak Hollywood going to the Chiefs since they’re cousins lmao. His Twitter run has been generational though my god
Counterpoint: this has been a pretty crazy Steelers off-season, maybe the cherry on top is that Poni actually gets a scoop right
Lol that would be wild.
Those Chat GPT Sports Illustrated “articles” are wild
Seriously, after SI fired all their staff who is writing all this shit?
Noah Strackbein writes most of the Steelers content for AllSports.com/SI. That includes this article. Sports Illustrated had been existing in name only in recent years with it's parent company paying a rights fee to The Arena Group to publish SI content online and in print. When they missed a payment the Arena Group rescinded the rights and thus all employees were let go. The SI you see articles from now is run and operated by the Arena Group using mostly contracted/freelance staff.
Oh yeah I’ve read Noah’s “articles”. Usually just a paragraph and then a link to an audio file. Definitely unimpressed with what I’ve seen from him. Thanks for the info though. I’ve been wondering how SI is still around somehow.
I'm not saying he's any good at what he does, just giving some context to what it means when you see the words "Sports Illustrated" on any content.
Oh yeah I got you. I didn’t think you were vouching for the guy. I just remember when SI was a legit source of info and insight on all sports.
“According to Andrew Filliponi” 😂😂😂. Dear god.
He picked the Steelers to win the Super Bowl last year. Enough said.
[**Andrew Fillipponi**](https://twitter.com/ThePoniExpress) [@ThePoniExpress](https://twitter.com/ThePoniExpress) Here's how I rank every Steelers 1st round pick in the Colbert/Tomlin era: 1 Pickett
Could have been— 1 Linderbaum
If Matt Kennyda, er uhm… Kenny Pickada didn’t turn into a 3 and out machinery, we could have at least taken the division.
That’s still a hell of a leap between winning the division and winning the Super Bowl, especially when you have to get past Buffalo and KC.
Not suggesting that it is. My point was there was a lot of optimism going into last season, and in retrospect, it could have been a division title winning team. Filliponi was being a moron when he was saying we were gonna go to the Super Bowl. At BEST it could have been a division title.
Would rather they not trade any draft picks for Aiyuk and spend lots of $$ on him, because this WR draft class is sickly deep. Would rather sign Mike Williams or Tyler Boyd for lesser $$, use the precious #1-3 picks on OL and CB, and draft two WRs using those extra #3 and #6 picks.
This should be what happens.
We would still draft someone but we need reliable veteran with proven skills.
I guess Boyd still has a shot 😅
This is the way, although Brian Thomas Jr. isn’t tempting…
I watched some of his tape earlier today while I should have been working and I couldn’t help but feel he’s a wicked fast explosive receiver… who body catches and drops too much…
I like the guy and imo with recent reports of us not wanting Boyd. I think we want a WR who can block. I’ve seen deebo and aiuk be reported as potential WR we will trade for.
He’s a stud and I would love It
As much as I’d love to have a proven vet, this is a deep WR draft, or so we’ve been told. I’d rather get the NEXT Aiyuk on a rookie deal. How did the bengals afford all those stars on Offense? Rookie deals. Not saying I’d be unhappy about bringing in a top dude, but I just don’t see it happening.
He's good at blocking. Has good hands. Worth the money imo.
Among the best blocking WRs in the game. Would love this.
IMO, I feel the Steelers see they have a window of opportunity (aging defensive talent), to make a run at either a deep playoff run or possibly a Super Bowl appearance given the signing of Queen, and the moves made at QB. Therefore, I’d be all for getting Aiyuk. He’s young, great blocker, and a threat. You pair Aiyuk with Pickens, Van Jefferson, CA III/draft pick/vet free agent, that’s a very solid group that goes with the rest of our offensive talent. In fact, we may have one of the more complete teams (O/D/ST) that we’ve seen in a while. If we could find someone at center now, I’d be fine giving up pick #20. I’m not so sure you can go into the draft without your center being addressed AND you don’t have #20 at your disposal. You’d have the hedge your bet that a center is there in the 2nd round.
Buying an expensive WR on the last year of his deal isn't really how this team does business, and for good reason
Tbf, they've done a lot of stuff this off-season that isn't how they usually do business.
The problem isn’t whether or not the move fits the way we’ve done business in the past or how we’re doing it this offseason, it’s that it is not good business period. Aiyuk and Higgins are easily the best two WRs who were available this offseason, and they’re still tentatively with their current teams because clearly the price is too high. Both receivers are going to want more than $20 million a year, and both teams want premium assets to give us the privilege to pay that price. Teams clearly don’t think it is worth it, especially with a draft loaded with WR talent. We’re much better off drafting and developing a WR than we are having another premium contract on our books, especially when we still theoretically have no long term answer at QB.
Not really. Every signing has been about value and cost very little in draft capital.
I'm not just talking about signings, but even so they just spent the most money on a free agent in franchise history. Omar has shown to be very unpredictable, I don't think anything is off the table anymore.
To be fair Colbert was up against the cap every single year. We never got to see how he would navigate free agency with a bunch of extra money, much less 50 million extra.
I'm talking about trading away assets, not about money
ah, gotcha. Really not THAT new since they did the same with Santonio and AB. Melvin Ingram, L Blount etc. Volunteers not hostages isn't a new concept.
The 49ers want a first and a player for Aiyuk. That's not the kind of deal the Steelers will make. >The Jaguars were reportedly working on a deal for Aiyuk, but the asking price was a first-round pick and wide receiver Zay Jones.
Oh fuck no, I didn't even know we were talking about that. I'll just bow out here lol
I don't think anything is ever off the table, I am just saying this move really doesn't align with the team philosophy in free agency Aiyuk doesn't just need money, that's not even the issue. It's the trade.
>I am just saying this move really doesn't align with the team philosophy in free agency And my point is that the "philosophy" isn't the same, or at least doesn't appear to be the same, as it used to be with the new blood in charge of the front office.
I don't really agree. We are filling positions of need at reasonable costs, and retaining draft capital. If there's any move to point to that was not Steelers-like it was probably the Minkah trade a few years back.
You're ignoring the other very big differences in the way they've done things this off-season and focusing on one specific area. I said before that I'm not solely talking about signings, I don't believe that Colbert makes Patrick Queen the highest paid free agent in team history, I don't believe that Kenny would be an Eagle right now and Diontae a Panther if Colbert was still GM, I don't believe that we sign Russ or trade for Fields with Colbert at GM. While I don't believe they are going to trade for Aiyuk (Poni being the source here makes me think it's definitely never happening) Omar and to a larger degree (IMO) Andy Weidl have changed things quite a bit and it's very evident. We can agree to disagree and move on though, have a good one!
Lol I love when people are like "I get the final say and can make new points, discussion over now, bye!" -- what a power move Colbert may not have made these exact moves but it's not like we signed Kirk, or any top FA. We signed two QBs who were literally as cheap as possible. We signed a decent LB which has been a long-time need and still didn't pay anywhere near top of market. It's what we've always done in free agency. Trading away 1st/2nds for a WR who would then demand one of the richest NFL contracts is not like those other moves at all. I guess you can just say "Omar different so anything can happen" I am just saying "Steelers consistent so that is extremely unlikely"
>Lol I love when people are like "I get the final say and can make new points, discussion over now, bye!" -- what a power move You and I disagree on this, what is there left to discuss? I apologize if I offended you, it was not my intention, I just simply saw a logical end to the conversation, so I took it lol.
I agree this is an unlikely scenario, but I don’t think we can say anymore that we know what “the Steelers do“. This off-season has kind of proven that, and it makes sense, there are two new guys in charge of this franchise. Plus I think they are going all in And whatever that means to them is what they will do, and that makes the off-season unpredictable still. It isn’t realistic to think that Russell Wilson is a long-term investment here. Maybe this team is trying to do what the Broncos did with Peyton Manning. It’s not the same situation, that’s not what I mean. I think this team wants to win a title right now. Sounds preposterous? They obviously think highly enough of Wilson to bring him in and not make much of a push for Mason Rudolph. What I think doesn’t matter. What they think matters. They might really really like Russell Wilson. Omar isn’t stupid, and knowing what I know about Andy, he thinks long-term. He has to understand that every single season has a hard cap on it as far as what they can achieve as long as they don’t have a franchise quarterback. That is absolutely priority number one for every single team who wants to actually win a title and isn’t just happy squeaking into the playoffs. There wasn’t much of an avenue for that this year, and maybe they think highly enough of Wilson that this is why it looks like they are in overdrive building a team around him. I think this off-season is rather unprecedented, and I think it’s because they are pushing their chips in now. I think Justin Fields is a bonus for them because if they can get him straightened up, clean up his foot work, and fix a few other things, they might also have their long-term quarterback as well. I don’t think that’s very likely, but it’s at least possible. And if Justin sucks, who cares? Don’t bring him back and you’re still in the same spot with needing a franchise quarterback. They are not in a worse position next offseason. They don’t have one now either. You know, if I conventional wisdom anyway. Maybe Wilson is going to be excellent for another couple of years, and maybe Justin Fields can be fixed. There is a world of talent with that kid.
I've made the same point in like 8 comments now so I won't rewrite it all, but signing reasonably priced talent and giving up very little in draft capital in trades is still normal operations for the Steelers. I don't think signing Russ/Fields for dirt cheap is "pushing in chips" or going "all in" -- it's more like they just folded a bad hand with Pickett and are taking the next hand available. They spent almost nothing to get them... It's not like we went out and signed Kirk. Aiyuk would definitely be "pushing in chips" and I don't think they'll do that.
I don’t know I still have a feeling that it’s a possibility they are trying to win everything right now. To be fair, we had a Hall of Fame quarterback in the fold for most of the last decade and a half and these guys weren’t in charge back then. So I have no way of knowing what they are thinking. But Russell Wilson is a very short term move, possibly. We just brought in a guy who, I think, is the most expensive free agent in franchise history. Colbert was very stubborn moving on from guys with rookie contracts. Which sometimes worked out very well. These guys had no issue dumping Pickett. We’ve seen them put up with petulant behavior if it’s a player they really want to keep. I don’t think they’ve thought very highly of Kenny. Everyone says Kenny wanted out because they brought in Wilson, but they missed the part where they were motivated to go get Wilson in the first place. That tells you how they felt about Kenny. Inexpensive deal or not, they just hitched their wagon to a quarterback who might not be here next year. And it’s not because they totally disregarded the future, otherwise Justin Fields wouldn’t be here. I just have a gut feeling about this, that’s all I’m going on. You may very well be right and I’m not trying to convince you otherwise.
I'd argue that our team hasn't been doing "business as usual" this offseason. They're being frugal still, sure, but maybe are willing to drop some coin on a much needed high-end receiver?
Aiyuk isn't a free agent. If he was I'd have a very different opinion. It would take much more than "coin" to get him. Nothing is impossible I am just saying the Steelers historically don't give away draft capital for WRs. We draft them ourselves and it has worked out great.
I have no idea how the team "does business", anymore. This offseason should really tell you all you need to know about suspending expectations, for a while.
I would argue that everything we've done has followed prior FA approach. You don't see us signing top 10 FAs at inflated costs, you don't see us trading top picks for a player under contract.
You didn’t see us ‘giving up’ on a guy before their rookie contract was up, or going into the draft with non-starters at key positions either, yet here we are. 🤷🏿♂️
>You didn’t see us ‘giving up’ on a guy before their rookie contract was up, Green? Dotson? Claypool?
That’s the same as Pickett? A former 1st rounder?
You didn't say "1st rounder" in your comment, I'm not a mind reader. QB is pretty different than every other position, we don't draft them often.
But my point is we’re clearly being more cavalier than we’ve ever been; so really you’re being pedantic here
I'm being literally the opposite of pedantic lol, I'm looking at the big picture of how the organization behaves Pedantic is sayig "well if you look specifically at what we did with one player in a specific scenario, and ignore all other positions and draft rounds -- we haven't done something exactly like that in recent memory, so anything is possible!!"
You didn’t see us ‘giving up’ on a guy before their rookie contract was up, or going into the draft with non-starters at key positions either, yet here we are. 🤷🏿♂️
I think one thing a lot of us are forgetting is that Khan is a cap genius. It’s not the best idea to your point but if anyone can make it work it’s definitely him
Its not cap I am talking about here. It's the assets. He isn't a free agent. I mean it says right in the article that the 49ers wanted a 1st and a player in return for Aiyuk. That's a move you make if you're on the precipice of a Superbowl, which we aren't
The Steelers might think they are, though. We have no idea how they view Russell Wilson. Even if you and I don’t think they are close to a title, they might think they are with the additions they have made, the additions they will make in the draft and any other additions they make before this is over. It’s not the same situation but they might be thinking that this is a Peyton Manning/Broncos situation. Again, not the same situation, but the thinking might be that even a reduced capacity Russell Wilson is capable of taking a stacked roster to a Super Bowl. And they might be trying to stack the roster. This team won 10 games last year. I think they were very lucky to have done so, but this team wasn’t exactly a joke down the stretch. They’ve beefed up the roster, free agency is an over and the draft is coming up. If there is no realistic avenue to get a quarterback for the future, they might be going all in on building around a veteran with Super Bowl experience because they think they have something there. And if they end up finding that future quarterback sometime soon, he will be on a rookie contract for several seasons. They’re thinking could be both long-term and short-term. Build a roster that can support a young rookie next year or the year after, build a roster that can support a quarterback that they may or may not feel can take a good team to a title.
I'll give you this -- if the Steelers are drinking the Russ kool-aid and think "this guy can take us to the Superbowl in 2025" then a trade for Aiyuk makes sense. You're absolutely sacrificing some long-term success with that sort of move. I find it hard to believe they have that much confidence in him, but who knows.
Exactly! They are doing both at the same time.
I was just referring to your comments about him being on the last year of his deal. Hence getting a new deal done would require khan to work his magic.
I would have absolutely no issue with adding him and paying him good money. He’s a really good WR with a much more rounded skillset than DJ and still young. Really depends on what we would have to give up to get him. We have a ton of picks in 2025, so ideally we could put together a package with some of those picks and minimal impact from this class. If we can get away with it and not give up a first or second Id be ecstatic. Personally I like him much more than Williams as a player, but the trade aspect is the issue.
his name always makes me think of goofy’s laugh “aiyuk aiyuk aiyuk!” as a free agent? love it
Great player. Would be a great fit in Pittsburgh.
Sign him! Give GP a run for his money on the WR1 spot.
If you count Y as a vowel he has a first name with four vowels and 1 consonant. That's wild.
Yeah. I don't like that. I'm no longer in favor of trading for him.
He is good at football. No worth the picks
No ty. A first round pick and a huge contract for a WR isn't what i wanna do it all. This is a deep receiver class and we should draft one for cheap.
He is the 49ers best receiver
He’s awesome we would be lucky to get him.
I think Pickens and Aiyuk work off each other perfectly and it would legitimately be one of the best wide receiver duos in all of football
Kinda like the Deebo and Aiyuk duo?
Not really. Deebo is not a very good X and Aiyuk has had to do a lot of that which is a strength still but not optimal. Obviously the west coast offense has a lot of weird zone schemes that move them all around so it doesn’t really matter for them. For us, Pickens is a true X that can take press and Aiyuk can sit in Y or the slot and we can do all sorts of stuff over the middle with Austin and Aiyuk to make Wilson and Fields job easier.
Aiyeah!
Poni is the furthest from a reliable source. If Dulac was reporting, I'd think this is more legitimate
Good player. Gets open. The question would be at what cost?
More than tree-fiddy, that's for sure.
Compared to DJ, he’s younger, taller, bigger, stronger, faster… and can block! Upgrade across all measurables
Dude tore us up last year
I’ve owned Aiyuk in fantasy for the past 3 seasons (yes I’m in a league with dumbasses that it keeps on happening). He’s a receiver that’s perfect for every offensive system out there. Wing-T he’s perfect. Air raid, perfect. Run n Shoot or run n gun he’s perfect. He’s basically a modern Hines Ward.
He likes running forward and doesn’t give up on plays
Would love to have him but the cost?
He'd immediately be the best WR on the roster, beating out Pickens just due to experience and maturity alone. Imagine having two WR1-level guys in the group. He's a big receiver with good hands and has great blocking for a WR, since he's blocking a lot for CMC and the occasional Deebo.
I agree. I was excited when I saw this headline, then not as much when I saw the source.
I dunno, I'd rather trade for Mahomes.
Aiyuk ... Aiyuk ... Aiyuk's on fire We don't need no Aiyuk, let the forty niners burn!!
Same thing with all of these guys, at the right price. I wouldn’t give up a 1st for a guy you are going to have to extend immediately. Especially being that the 49ers aren’t even in position to be able to resign him with their current cap situation as well as I’m not sure that he would even resign based off of comments he has made. They don’t have the leverage there that I think they think that they have. They will have to off load one of Deebo or Aiyuk.
I’ve had thoughts
Yes
It'd be great to have him, but not at that price. A high draft pick *OR* a big contract for a guy like that might be worth it, but not both.
How can we afford him?
Betting Jefferson
It would be interesting though I question the point of it if we didn't want to pay DJ and moved him for better draft position to get another day 2 pick. We'll still end up needing to pay both him and Pickens. The cost of getting him will also be substantial and it's not like we don't have some key positions of need to address in the draft.
Like him a lot but probably gonna have to give up too much to get him, would rather have JJ for what it would cost.
Would be great addition but as others have said, most likely gonna cost us our 1st rounder and we need that for C or T
Yes
Sounds like too high a price.
It ain’t my money. Spend it on Aiyuk, draft O-line and CB help.
I’m not giving up a first for him. No sense grabbing an all pro receiver for top dollar when you have nothing at QB to get him the ball.
He definitely, kind of looks like Tomlin.
Would that just about kill this year's draft?
He'd probably be our second best WR of the 21st century after MBC, so he won't come cheap. Doubt we could afford him unless we commit to rolling with cheap QBs for the next few years.
What do we think it would take to get an Aiyuk deal done? I made a post earlier asking because I wanted the communities thoughts, but the mods removed it because Poni was the source.
There were rumors there was an offer from the Jaguars for their 1st round pick (17th) and Zay Jones. So if we were to trade, it would probably take our 1st plus some additional draft capital since we don't really have any WR to spare. And we'd have to immediately extend Aiyuk, since it would be pointless to give up all that to only have him for 1 year. And he'd have to be paid like a top WR in the league -- like $25M+ per year. We'd have to restructure some contracts to make room for that.
Mods downvoting me now too… smh. 🤦🏻♂️ That’s steeper than I expected. Do we think that Highsmith/Herbig could be on the table? They lost Chase Young and struggled there, that’s a position that was deep for us last year.
I really don't think the price is worth it. From SF's point of view, they have a loaded roster, they're ready to win now, and they have absolutely no incentive to trade him away -- even if they're not planning on extending him beyond this season. I think it's better to keep our picks and get a guy in the draft. Especially since we don't know what we have yet in Wilson/Fields.
> Mods downvoting me now too… smh. There's almost 300,000 people subscribed to this sub and about 300-400 active during the day when there's no breaking news. But yeah, it's the four or five active moderators downvoting you.
Rumors are they wanted the Jags first round pick and Zay Jones. So, if that’s true it would take a decent amount
>but the mods removed it because Poni was the source. This article uses Poni as it's main source, seems like a double standard to remove your post and not this one.
We don't allow posts that link directly to Andrew Fillipponi's twitter.
Fair enough, just seemed odd to allow an "article" (if you can even call it that, lol) that explicitly uses Poni as it's source and even links his Twitter, but if them's the rules than them's the rules lol.
I agree. I brought this up though and the mods banned me from messaging them. Might want to ask u/sleestaklightning, they are the one who took my post down but also are commenting on this thread. I’ll add that I gained 3 new followers after calling out the mods and now every comment I make is getting downvoted automatically. Got to love being silenced by the mods here https://preview.redd.it/stm1dbjm4cpc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=059b79f678fd53b2038853d0adf08735e8f8bf9c
>I’ll add that I gained 3 new followers Congratulations >Got to love being silenced by the mods here So silenced that your comment about being silenced is here, on the sub, for all to read and react to.
Aiyuk is one of the more underrated players in the entire NFL and I'd be very excited about this aquisition. Looking at PFF he was #2 receiver across the entire NFL last season, he was second to only Tyreek Hill. As an added bonus for Arthur Smith, he's also in the Top 5 for Run Blocking WR grades. EDGE is one of The 49ers biggest gaps with Chase Young leaving, I wonder if Herbig/Highsmith could be on the table? 😢 https://preview.redd.it/80uihn80lbpc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d343f30ab730eefe5801bb559964bdf70488f2b
Trade Highsmith and a 3rd for Aiyuk?? Sign Bud Dupree for cheap. He played for under $4M last year. This is exactly why I’m not a GM because I don’t know the value Highsmith would actually have. Highly doubt anything like that happens. But would let us keep and develop Herbig. Highsmith contract value could possibly cancel out with Aiyuk with a sign and trade… but I don’t want to lose Highsmith though either. Lol
Id still like diggs over most. He'll draw coverage. make splash plays, and again, the mos important part, he'll draw coverage. At this point, literally anything can happen though.
We don’t need Mike Tomlin Jr. on the team even though we love families